Chapter 4 – They Leapt into Action

"The witnesses said he complained of a headache, then started acting strangely; he couldn't remember his own name one moment and was completely lucid the next. Finally, he said he was hot, then cold, then hot again - then he died." Shawn quietly added.

Gus looked at him incredulously.

"Lassie's notes," he explained, knowing Gus would understand that he had gotten a good look at the detective's notebook while he was being threatened with the 'finger of death.' "That sounds like poison, right?"

"Yeah, Shawn…"

oO0Oo

Having returned to the station, the team gathered in Chief Vick's office. They had been going over the evidence gathered that morning for almost an hour, and were no further for their efforts.

"Who would want to kill this guy?" Juliet asked the room, "He was a family man who researched new medicines. According to the witnesses we've interviewed, he was well liked by everyone."

Lassiter frowned, "Drugs? Could he be supplying someone with something?"

"It's doubtful." Gus interjected. "His type of research would not involve any of the typical street drugs. It's possible he was working on creating something illicit. But I-"

"Gus, don't make up words!" Shawn was frowning. He was trying very hard to find something he had seen at the lab that would give him some kind of clue. He was having a hard time because the headache he'd gotten during his vision earlier was only getting worse. He started to sidle in the direction of Lassie's desk, hoping to sneak some of the aspirin he'd glimpsed there a couple weeks ago.

"Shawn," Chief Vick said, interrupting his sidle, "Are you hearing any more from the doctor?"

"Um," Shawn put a finger to his temple, and pressed, rubbing little circles. 'That feels better.'

"Mr. Spencer?"

"What? No." he dropped his hand to his side reluctantly, "He's still getting settled in his new digs. I'll bug him in a little bit."

Lassiter rolled his eyes, "Alright. Since our 'psychic,'" Sarcastic air quotes were sent in Shawn's direction, "is stumped – again - We'll do this the old fashioned way; with good, solid police work. O'Hara?" He gestured to his partner and the two of them started to leave.

Shawn smirked, "Rounding up the Usual Suspects! I like it, Lassie!" he called after them.

As the grim head detective opened the door to leave, McNab appeared right in front of him, a manila envelope in his hands. "Results from the lab – they said you wanted them right away."

Chief Vick strode over and grabbed it. After briefly thanking the officer, she tore the envelope open and spread the results on the desk for all to see.

Shawn looked at Gus. Knowing his buddy was the best one to understand the drugs involved, he elbowed him, pushing him towards the desk.

Gus glared at the mistreatment, but took a close look at the report. He frowned, "That," he said, pointing at the paper "is definitely a deadly poison. Two of those alone are one of the worst combinations of drugs you can have – with the third one in there," he shook his head, "There's no chance of survival without some kind of reverse," noticing the blank looks around him he added, "or antidote."

"Okay – first priority is to look into those drugs," Lassiter commented. "Let's get a list of everyone connected to the lab who would have had access and get 'em in here for questioning."

Meanwhile, a rather uncomfortable thought had started tap dancing in the back of Shawn's mind. He knew you're not supposed to ask questions you really don't want the answer to, but jumped in anyway, "Does it say how the poison was administered?"

Juliet looked at the report once more, "It was ingested. Probably at the banquet."

Shawn looked at her with an eyebrow quirked, "There weren't any needles there, Jules."

She barely restrained an eye roll, "In-JEST-ed, Shawn. Not injected. He ate it."

"I've heard it both ways." He said absently, as he thought back to the details of the crime scene – to the crumbs he had noticed on the dead man's shirt, fingers, and in his beard. He swallowed hard. This was not good. So not good. "Who put together the menu? Hired the caterers?"

"It wasn't actually catered. His wife put the whole thing together as a way to thank the employees for finishing a recent project on time. Apparently she likes to entertain." Lassiter reported, thinking back to his interview of the wife. "She put together all his favorite foods."

"He loved crab cakes…" Shawn whispered to himself, his hand only half-raised to his temple. 'And I'm an idiot.' he finished silently.

Juliet raised her eyebrows at Lassiter's comment, "Then the wife is looking like a prime suspect. Do we know anything about their marriage? Indiscretions? Money problems?"

Now Shawn put both hands to his head, closed his eyes and saw the weeping wife hugging the scared little girl – their daughter. He remembered their clothing and her jewelry – all telling him that this was a modest, but happy family and that Manfredsen had given his wife jewelry – not terribly expensive, but tasteful and obviously worn proudly by his wife. He saw Manfredsen's shirt – ironed nicely, but not professionally... "No!" He spoke up, wincing at the spike in his headache from the volume of his own voice. He continued more quietly. "They were happily married. It's someone else." He trailed off distractedly. That wasn't the only thing he had remembered about the little family…

He really needed to talk to Gus.

"Do you know who?" Chief Vick prompted.

"What? No. He's… not telling." Shawn answered evasively. "Gus? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Gus frowned, puzzled, but followed his partner into the hall.

Shawn sat heavily on the bench outside and waited for Gus to join him.

"What is it, Shawn?"

Shawn sighed, "Tell me about Manfredsen's last moments. What did he go through?"

"I don't know that, Shawn – you're the one who knows that stuff."

"You know the drugs – what would happen to someone if they took all three?"

"Actually that's a really complicated thing to know – you'd have to run tests-"

"Gus!" Shawn protested, just a trace of desperation in his voice.

His friend gave him a look of surprise, but answered him, "What the witnesses said about Manfredsen's last moments would be pretty typical: those drugs all affect the nervous system. They're not bad drugs by themselves – they're medicines, but when you combine them, they counteract each other. It's actually the side effects of that interaction that would kill you."

Shawn was bouncing his knee and making 'move it along' motions with his hand.

"I'm getting there, Shawn..." he said tensely, but Shawn's demeanor didn't change.
He often relied on Gus for certain facts, information and insights, and Gus was happy to provide them, even if he didn't always understand why. But in this case – something about Shawn seemed off…

He continued patiently, "He had a bad headache for sure; probably some confusion, maybe even hallucinations. I have to say, without running tests, that almost any kind of 'crazy' stuff would come and go but eventually the body would just shut down as the brain quit telling it what to do. He might get the shakes; feel hot or cold like they said – even paralysis. I really don't know for sure, Shawn. It would depend a lot on how much of the poison a person received."

He watched Shawn digest the information. They knew each other so well; his friend's face confirmed his suspicion that something was very wrong. "Why did we have to come out here for you to ask me this?"

Instead of answering, Shawn's knee stilled, and he looked at Gus seriously- no sign of mischief anywhere. Gus sat up straighter. He had learned to listen when Shawn looked like that.

"Buddy, I'm going to tell you something and you have to promise me that no matter what, you won't tell anyone else."

"Shawn, I always regret it when I make those kinds of promises-"

"Gus – I know how the poison was delivered. It…it was in the crab cakes." He paused while his best friend digested that fact, then grabbed his arm when he sensed Gus was about to get up, "You promised."

"No. I didn't. Shawn – you need to be in a hospital right now!"

"Shh! No. I really don't."

"Why not?!"

"First, I've got plenty of time. Old Manny ate at least six crab cakes- maybe seven judging from the size of the plate and the amount of crumbs. They were his favorite food. I ate two… Aaaand I'll never eat another one after this - which is unfortunate 'cause other than the poison, they were delicious," he paused, "Second, we have no idea what or where the antidote is and I am NOT going to lie in some hospital bed bored to death while you guys have all the fun of looking for it."

"That's enough! I have to tell somebody-"

Shawn grabbed his shoulder this time and forcefully sat him back down. Leaning in intensely, he murmured, "Finally, and here's the really 'good' part: The Doc and I weren't the only ones to eat them. Little Amy, the daughter, about ten years old, ate part of one – only a bite or two, I think, but SHE'S the one who needs to be in the hospital. I'M the one who needs to save her. And I CAN'T DO THAT if I'm stuck in a bed. Okay? I need your help with this."

Gus swallowed and after a moment's hesitation, nodded reluctantly. He knew Shawn was the girl's best hope.

Relieved, and thankful not to be alone in this, Shawn squeezed his eyes shut tight against the pounding headache, grinding both fists into his temples. Then he took a deep breath, glanced once at his buddy and bounced up and back into the office as if nothing was wrong.

"I've got something!" He shouted as he threw himself into Lassiter's arms. Lassie caught him, holding the grown man like a baby for a split second before dropping him on his behind. "That hurts, Lassie. It really does. And not just on my bumper," he reprimanded the detective, before leaping to his feet. "It's a child!" he declared, pretending to rock a small child in his arms. He kept up his demonstration for a full minute - until eyes started to roll - saying things like: "There, there, don't cry." "Are you hungry?" and finally, when he was just about to lose the attention of his audience, he cried, "Wait! No! No! Don't eat…"

He fell to his knees before the chief, "The poison was in the crab cakes. But Man-fred-ches-ten-sen wasn't the only one! His daughter, Amy, ate part of a deadly crab cake! It's a small amount, but we need to make sure she's cared for right away!"

With that announcement, everyone leapt into action, leaving Shawn on his knees with Gus standing behind him. Shawn smiled, "They leapt." He commented quietly to Gus while sitting back on his heels, "They actually leapt into action. Did you see that? That was cool."

Gus shook his head with worry, "Yeah, Shawn, people tend to do that when a child's life is at stake." Or their best friend's…

TBC…